The average airfare sold
through mega travel agencies in March dropped 3.8 percent year over year to
$751, according to ARC. Excluding taxes, the average airfare sold through
American Express, BCD Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Expedia's Egencia, Hogg
Robinson Group and Omega World Travel now has declined versus the prior year in
nine consecutive months.
Based information
provided to BTN from ARC's AeroTrend
analytical tool, average fares also are down across other agency categories.
For "online" agencies, which include various leisure-oriented sales
outlets as well as Travelocity Business and Orbitz for Business, the average
March fare excluding taxes was $378, down from $382 the previous year. For all
agencies classified in the "other" category, the average March fare
was $619, down from $634 in March 2012.
Breakouts by advance
purchase period also show across-the-board declines in the three travel agency
categories. For the mega agencies, average March fares excluding taxes were
down 4.1 percent for 10-day advance purchase (to $746), 3.2 percent for 30-day
advance purchase (to $735) and 4.6 percent for 60-day advance purchase (to
$746).
This month, U.S.
airlines successfully pushed through a Delta-led systemwide $4 roundtrip price
hike, according to FareCompare. A subsequent effort this week, also led by
Delta, attempted to raise roundtrip fares by $6 to $10, but failed in the
absence of competitive matching. FareCompare has reported seven broad airfare
hikes during 2013, of which two stuck.